Abraham was given a promise by God in three areas: (Gen 12) 1) the promise of the land 2) the promise that his descendants would be a nation 3) the promise that through his descendants (this nation) all the families of the earth would be blessed. Learning about Abraham and his story in Sunday School, in our reading of the Bible, and through homilies, these promises seemed like too much for God to accomplish, at least it does for us. However, Abraham knew that it was God who established a covenant with Him and that God is not a liar like men but that His words are true, always. This is why the Apostle Paul says today in the Pauline epistle, “He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.” (Romans 4: 20-22) As already stated, for us looking into this great drama between Abraham and God, we would think it is impossible for these promises to come true because we look in our own lives and consider God has limitations in what He can do. This was not the way Abraham thought. He believed that God would bring to fruition the promises that He had declared. Abraham had a strong faith and did not waver but believed. Do we have such unwavering faith in God? Or do we always doubt God?

In the Pauline Epistle today, we hear of how the Apostle Paul was called by God to preach the Gospel. He writes in Galatians 1: 11 that the gospel that he preached was given to him not by men, but by the revelation of God. That is, he was, in a sense, called directly by God, in a unique way, that was particular to his calling as an evangelist and apostle. He is very specific about mentioning this to the Galatian church, who he is writing to, to let them know that he is a legitimate apostle, and not someone who free-lancing the gospel for personal gain. Additionally, and more importantly for this message, St. Paul is expressing his calling as something very important to him. Why does he emphasize his individual calling with such unabashed zeal? For St. Paul, a person who is in Christ, who is created in the image and likeness of God, (Gen. 1:27) has a “uniqueness” that is specific to their calling. This uniqueness comes in the form of gifts, talents, and virtues. (1 Cor. 12: 4-11) Further, there is something special about each Christian that makes their contribution to the Kingdom of God extremely unique.

Either if it was at our wedding or a wedding that we attended, we are quite familiar with the words of the Apostle Paul: “husbands love your wives as yourself.” (Eph 5:28) St. Paul’s idea of how a husband should love his wife as himself were not his thoughts alone, but one that he took from his Lord. Christ taught that we should, “love our neighbor as ourselves.” (Mark 12:31) Here, St. Paul takes the teachings of his Lord and applies them to marriage.